There is no mention of increased spending specifically tied to the province’s nascent flood plan or for reducing wildfire risks.
Green initiatives and reducing risks to communities from climate change, including floods and wildfires, took a back seat to health, education, community safety and battling U.S. tariffs in B.C.’s 2025 budget, advocates say.
This year’s budget does provide new money to build resilience, but it targets economic resilience, promising $172 million in new investments to support B.C. businesses and jobs to improve local economies, with spending on highway and bridge maintenance, transit and business marketing.
The budget also sets aside an additional $100 million during the next two years for more money for rebates on electric heat pumps for low and moderate income households to improve energy efficiency.
The budgets of ministries that have a piece of flood and wildfire mitigation did see nominal increases. The Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Ministry, which has responsibility for the province’s flood strategy, increased two per cent, while the B.C. Forests Ministry, which has some responsibility for reducing wildfire risks, saw its budget increase nearly five per cent.
But there is no mention of increased spending specifically tied to the province’s nascent flood plan, which includes upgrading dikes and restoring natural flood plains, or for reducing wildfire risks, which includes creating fire breaks around communities and burning underbrush on the forest floor.
B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said that because U.S. tariffs could be a $3.4-billion hit to the province’s revenues, the government is focused on protecting health, education and social services.
“It is important to note that the impact to B.C.’s economy may actually be beyond the range shown here, if federal support measures are less than projected, if Canada’s (tariff) retaliation escalates and if the level of U.S. tariffs is higher due to stacking,” said Bailey.
Jessica McIlroy, who is with the Pembina Institute, a climate and energy think-tank, said given that tariffs have been imposed on Canada by the U.S., it’s not surprising that green initiatives weren’t a bigger priority in the budget.
“It’s understandable,” she said.
Still, she said she was pleased to see green incentive programs continuing, including the $100-million heat pump program.
However, McIlroy said it would have been nice to see more emphasis on leveraging B.C.’s natural advantages, such as its clean energy, and a plan to use that to boost investment and jobs. There are good opportunities in the technology side, she noted.
McIlroy said she hoped that a promised review of Clean B.C., the province’s carbon emission reduction program, would deliver such a plan.
The council also told the B.C. government the province isn’t adequately prepared for the threats that climate change pose to communities and the economy.
Tamsin Lyle, a flood management expert who has been involved in preparedness planning in B.C., said the budget’s focus is clearly far removed from disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation.
She noted that the Water and Lands Ministry’s service plan did reference risk reduction and the flood strategy, but there weren’t associated performance measures.
“I hope the base funding for the relevant ministries will mean that recent advances in this field will not be eroded while we wait for the next disaster,” said Lyle, who heads Ebbwater Consulting.
Dylan Kruger, a City of Delta councillor who chairs Metro Vancouver’s flood resiliency committee, said that in the face of global uncertainty it’s more important than ever to build resiliency in food supply and the best way to do that is to build flood infrastructure in B.C.’s most fertile region, the Sumas Prairie in the Fraser Valley.
“To do so will require substantial new investment, unfortunately we do not see that investment in today’s budget,” said Kruger.
The B.C. government noted it’s trying to fast-track some projects, including the North Coast transmission line meant to supply electricity to northwest B.C. to support new and expanded mines, port expansion and electrification, and additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) development.
To keep carbon emissions down, electricity is the preferred power source for the B.C. government.
No timelines have been set for the transmission project and no spending is set aside in the 2025 budget.